By Chidi Ugwu
Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to 32.70% in September 2024, the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has indicated.
This marks a 0.55% increase from August’s rate of 32.15%, driven primarily by rising food and transportation costs, particularly following recent petrol price hikes.
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Statistician General and Chief Executive Officer of NBS Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, in a statement he personally signed said the headline inflation rate increased to 32.70% relative to the August 2024 headline inflation rate which stood at 32.15%.
According to him, the September 2024 Headline inflation rate rose by 0.55% compared to the August 2024 Headline inflation rate.
Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate was 5.98% points higher than the rate recorded in September 2023, which was 26.72%. This shows that the Headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in September 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., September 2023).
The latest report said the increase recorded in the Headline Index for September 2024 was attributed to the rise in the average price of some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level compared to what these items recorded in August 2024.
According to the report, these increases affected Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (16.94%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuel (5.47%), Clothing & Footwear (2.50%), Transport (2.13%), Furnishings & Household Equipment & Maintenance (1.64%), Education (1.29%) and Health (0.98%). Others are Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.54%), Restaurants & Hotels (0.40%), Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco & Kola (0.36%) as well as Recreation & Culture and Communication which stood at 0.22%, respectively.
The month-on-month Headline inflation rate in September 2024 stood at 2.52%, this shows an average increase of 0.30% on the general price level relative to August 2024 (2.22%).
The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending September 2024 over the average CPI for the previous twelve months was 31.73%, showing an 8.83% increase compared to 22.90% recorded in September 2023.
The Food Sub-index inflation rate in September 2024 was 37.77% on a year-on-year basis, 7.13% points higher than the rate recorded in September 2023 (30.64%). The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items Guinea Corn, Rice, Maize Grains, Beans, etc (Bread and Cereals Class), Yam, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber, etc (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Beer (Local and Foreign) (Tobacco Class), Lipton, Milo, Bournvita, etc (Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Class) and Vegetable Oil, Palm Oil etc (Oil & Fats Class).
Similarly, the Food inflation rate on a month-on-month basis, in September 2024 was 2.64% which shows a 0.27% increase compared to the rate recorded in August 2024 (2.37%). The rise can be attributed to the rate of increase in the average prices of Beer (Local and Foreign) (Tobacco Class),
Vegetable Oil, Groundnut Oil, Palm Oil etc. (Oil & Fats Class), Beef, Gizzard, Dried Beef etc. (Meat Class), Lipton, Milo, Bournvita, etc (Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Class) and Milk, Egg etc. (Milk, cheese and Eggs Class).
The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending September 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 37.53%, higher by 11.88% points from the average annual rate of change recorded in September 2023 (25.65%).
The “All items less farm produces and energy” or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produces and energy stood at 27.43% in September 2024 on a year-on-year basis; up by 5.59% when compared to the 21.84% recorded in September 2023. The highest increases were recorded in prices of the following items, Rents (Actual and Imputed Rentals for Housing Class), Bus Journey intercity, Journey by motorcycle, etc. (under Passenger Transport by Road Class), and Accommodation Service, Laboratory service, X-ray photography, Consultation Fee of a medical doctor, etc. (under Medical Services Class).
On a month-on-month basis, the Core Inflation rate stood at 2.10% in September 2024. This shows a decrease of 0.17% compared to 2.27% recorded in August 2024.
The average twelve-month annual inflation rate was 25.64% for the twelve months ending September 2024; this was 6.09% points higher than the 19.55% recorded in September 2023.
The Urban consumers’ annual inflation rate in September 2024 on a year-on-year basis was 35.13%. This indicated an increase of 6.46% points higher compared to the 28.68% recorded in September 2023.
Similarly, the Urban month-on-month inflation rate increased to 2.67% in September 2024, showing a rise of 0.28% compared to August 2024 (2.39%).
The corresponding twelve-month average for the Urban inflation rate was 33.95% in September 2024. This was 9.84% points higher compared to the 24.10% reported in September 2023.
Also, the rural areas’ Headline Inflation rate in September 2024 was 30.49% on a year-on-year basis; this was 5.55% higher compared to the 24.94% recorded in September 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, the Rural inflation rate in September 2024 was 2.39%, up by 0.33% points compared to August 2024 (2.06%).
The corresponding twelve-month average for the Rural inflation rate in September 2024 was 29.76%. This was 7.97% higher compared to the 21.79% recorded in September 2023.
The analyses of the states’ profiles shows that the all-item index for September 2024, on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bauchi (44.83%), Sokoto (38.74%) and Jigawa (38.39%), while Delta (26.35%), Benue (26.90%) and Katsina (27.71%) recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis.
On the other hand, on a month-on-month basis, September 2024 recorded the highest increases in Sokoto (4.63%), Taraba (4.07%), Anambra (3.74%), while Kwara (1.14%), Cross River (1.78%) and Lagos (1.82%) recorded the slowest rise on Month-on-Month inflation.
The analysis of the food index at state levels in September 2024, on a year-on-year basis, recorded highest in Sokoto (50.47%), Gombe (44.09%), and Yobe (43.51%) while Kwara (32.45%), Rivers (32.80%) and Kogi (32.83%) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis.
On the other hand, on a month-on-month basis, September 2024 Food inflation was highest in Sokoto (5.94%), Taraba (5.76%), and Bayelsa (4.44%), while Kwara (0.88%), Cross River (1.29%) and Kogi (1.45%) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation.
